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PARKERSBURG -- A Texas man is in custody in West Virginia after allegedly exchanging explicit messages and asking for videos of a 10-year-old Parkersburg girl via Snapchat.
Ruben Romero, 36, of El Paso, was charged with soliciting a minor via computer, arrested in Texas and placed in the El Paso County Jail, according to a Facebook post from the Parkersburg Police Department.
He was brought to Parkersburg Tuesday and arraigned in Wood County Magistrate Court, where his bond was set at $50,000, police Lt. J.M. Stalnaker said.
Romero is in custody at the North Central Regional Jail in Doddridge County.
The investigation began in July 2021 "when a parent found some inappropriate messages/images on their daughter's cell phone," Stalnaker said.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Wood County Magistrate Court, detectives discovered a conversation between the child, then 10, and the suspect, who claimed he was 17 years old and asked the child for explicit videos and photos. The suspect told the girl he loved her and that the messages could be a secret.
"Although he didn't travel here, he did say that maybe he should visit," Stalnaker said.
Multiple search warrants were executed involving Snapchat accounts and IP addresses, Stalnaker said. Eventually, investigators were able to link the messages to a work phone issued to Romero.
Stalnaker said the case provides a reminder to parents to pay attention to their children's online activity.
"Obviously in this case, the parent was monitoring the child's social media and was able to discover these messages," he said. "You have to respect their privacy a little bit, but they're still a kid."
It's also important for children to exercise caution.
"You don't know who you're talking to when you're sending these," Stalnaker said.